In what marks a sign of deepening military ties between Sri Lanka and China, Beijing has 'gifted' a warship to Colombo. According to an agency report, the frigate — 'P625' arrived in Colombo last week. The frigate was commissioned into the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy as Tongling in 1994. the warship was decommissioned in 2015 and has been gifted to Sri Lankan Navy after a refit.

Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy thanked China and said that the gift would be taken as a token of friendship between the two countries, PTI reported citing Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency. According to China's mission in Colombo, 110 Lankan Navy personnel were trained for over two months in Shanghai for operating the ship.

The navy of the island nation which occupies a strategically important position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has 50 combat and support ships. Last year, India had gifted an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) to Sri Lanka besides two such vessels in 2006 and 2008.

Global beverages major Coca-Cola on July 16 announced top-level changes in its India and South West Asia unit with appointment of Sarvita Sethi as Vice-President-M&A and New Ventures, and Harsh Bhutani as Vice President - Finance (CFO).

Sethi, who was earlier VP Finance India and South West Asia, in her new role will provide leadership to business incubation, Coca-Cola said in a statement.

She will also continue to lead the M&A priorities for Coca-Cola's business in India and South West Asia, it added.

It was after nearly a year that Rohan Bopanna was able to lay his hands on the Arjuna award, as he received it from the Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju here on Tuesday.

“It is an amazing feeling to hold the award. Definitely, I would have loved to receive it from the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, along with other athletes and achievers. But that does not take anything away from the thrill of receiving it,” said Bopanna, who received the trophy along with his wife Supriya Annaiah.

Bopanna, a former World No. 3 doubles star, said he enjoyed his meeting with the minister.

“He is such a big tennis fan, and has been watching tennis for a long time. We spoke for nearly 45 minutes and it was very positive. He also talked about following women’s cricket, as Smriti Mandhana also got the award today,” said Bopanna.

Sharath Kamal was voted the Sportsperson of the Year in the annual Indian Oil Sports Conclave at an impressive function in New Delhi on Monday.

Sharath, a Chennai-based Chief Manager who turned 37 last week, was among the five nominees for whom votes were polled by over 60 elite sportspersons employed with the oil major.

The other nominees were cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, Grandmaster B, Adhiban, hockey player Simranjeet Singh and table tennis player Manika Batra.

A delighted Sharath said, “It is a great honour to be chosen ahead of such achievers. After my parents, Indian Oil has played a major role in my career. In 2003, they took me when I was not even a National champion. Sine then, they have taken care of all my needs and it is an absolute privilege to be part of the Indian Oil family.”

The first tranche of $250 million of the $500 million funds set aside by the World Bank for the Resilient Kerala Programme (RKP) to help improve the state's resilience against natural disasters and climate change has been cleared, according to a top bank official.

Kerala had become the first Indian state to get this fund, said Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank, India, here on Monday.

"The future of India is in the states and hence we decided to invest in state schemes besides concentrating on citizen-centric programmes. That's what we have done in the RKP," said Ahmad.

Ahmad along with his team was here to take part in the Development Parties Conclave, organised by the Kerala government with the participation of top international agencies, like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, JAICA and UNDP, to discuss ways to help the state rebuild after last year's floods.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised State Bank of India and Union Bank of India for violating certain regulatory guidelines.

SBI was fined ₹7 crore for non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds.

RBI said the statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2017 revealed that the lender had violated those norms.

The central bank also imposed a ₹10-lakh fine on Union Bank for non-compliance with the directions on the cybersecurity framework in banks issued by the RBI. In 2016, the RBI carried out an examination of the cybersecurity framework after reports of generation of seven fraudulent messages worth $171 million through the SWIFT system of the bank.

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has confirmed the dates, March 15 to 26, for the World Cup in rifle, pistol and shot gun to be hosted at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, here in 2020.

This will be preceded by the Shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus, from March 4 to 13.

The World Cup in rifle, pistol and shotgun, a test event for the Olympics, will be staged in Tokyo from April 15 to 27.

It will be followed by the World Cup in rifle and pistol in Munich, Germany, from June 2 to 9, and the combined World Cup for all three events in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 22 to July 3.

Pernell Whitaker, widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time, has died after being hit by a car. He was 55.

Police in Virginia Beach said Whitaker was killed as he crossed the road at an intersection on Sunday night. “When officers arrived on scene they located an adult male victim who had been hit by a vehicle. The victim succumbed to his injuries on the scene,” a Virginia Beach Police Department spokesman said in a statement. “The driver of the vehicle remained on scene with police.”

Whitaker was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006, and was a champion in four weight classes: lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight. The American was known as a brilliant defensive boxer with many opponents struggling to lay a hand on him. He retired in 2001 after three defeats in his final four fights with but he was in his prime in the 80s and 90s. He also won a gold medal as a lightweight at the 1984 Olympics.

Bangladesh’s former military dictator H.M. Ershad, who had seized power in a 1982 coup, has died. He was 89.

Ershad had long been suffering from multiple complications including infections in his lungs and kidneys, his younger brother, G.M. Quader, said Sunday. He was admitted to the Dhaka military hospital on June 26 and was kept in the intensive care unit. His condition later deteriorated and was placed on life support.

Ershad ruled the country from 1982 to 1990.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina both expressed their condolences on Sunday.

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra was Monday appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, replacing Acharya Devvrat, who has been transferred and appointed as the Governor of Gujarat.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan press communique said the appointments of Mishra and Devvrat will come into effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Mishra, 78, had resigned from the Narendra Modi-led government as Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in 2017 after he crossed the age of 75, the BJP's unofficial age limit for holding an elected post. The Uttar Pradesh leader did not contest the last Lok Sabha election.

Devvrat, 60, was appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh in 2015. He will replace Governor of Gujarat OP Kohli, who retires on Monday.